Engadget Podcast 120 - 12.05.2008

AT&T to launch Homezone TV service

Just because
AT&T's Lightspeed and the late SBC and BellSouth's nascent FTTH rollout (which they now
own, in a manner
of speaking) aren't yet ready to provide prime time IPTV to the
masses doesn't mean they will be stopped from taking on cable companies every which way they can; enter their new
Homezone service. Since the DSL they currently serve up wouldn't be quite broad enough to give AT&T what they need
for a true live-IPTV experience, they're bundling it with live TV from DISH, movie downloads from MovieLink, older programming from Akimbo, and DVR functionality in a single 2Wire-built box. It may
seem a little piecemeal, but we're a little surprised this kind of home entertainment hodgepodge angle hasn't
already been explored -- our only real fear here is whether AT&T and 2Wire will nail it when bringing so many kinds
of user experiences into a single livingroom box.